This article conveys one practitioner's career-long journey related to teaching reading. The author gained valuable information from relevant research reports regarding the keys to effective reading instruction and has learned even more while implementing a systematic approach to teaching reading as a volunteer tutor.

Research on students' self-assessments has reported their usefulness in supporting their learning processes. However, little research has specifically focused on its role in students' use of open educational resources (OERs), which are important learning resources in the digital age. Consequently, this qualitative case study reports on university…

Finding affordable textbooks is a challenge within many educational contexts, including English as a foreign language (EFL) settings and English as a second language (ESL) settings, such as universities and Intensive English Programs (often referred to as IEPs) in the United States. As educators, we know it is a struggle for many of our students…

Language teachers report having limited direct contact with research and research findings despite generally positive perceptions of research (Borg 2009; Marsden and Kasprowicz 2017; Nassaji 2012). Key reasons teachers give are 1) practical - a lack of time and access, and 2) conceptual - academic papers can be difficult to read (Plavén-Sigray et…

Open research practices are relevant to all stages of research, from conceptualization through dissemination. Here, we discuss key facets of open research, highlighting its rationales, infrastructures, behaviors, and challenges. Part I conceptualizes open research and its rationales. Part II identifies challenges such as the speed and cost of open…

This article introduces the structure and content of an online learning platform called "SMART Teacher Lab" (STL, henceforth) implemented at the authors' university since 2014. "STL" is an online platform specifically built for the professional development of pre- and in-service English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers,…

This paper reports the findings of a pilot project, Open Resources for English Language Teaching (ORELT), that aimed to introduce open resources for teaching English in Kenyan junior secondary schools alongside the traditional textbooks that until now have been the only teaching resources available to teachers and learners. The ORELT materials,…

This study replicates the research conducted by Pérez-Paredes, Ordoñana Guillamón and Aguado Jiménez (2018) on language teachers' perceptions on the use of OER language processing technologies in mobile-assisted language learning. It expands the initial research study by adding Polish, Portuguese, and Turkish educational contexts, surveying 239…

Multilingual Academic Writing is a 12-week course that targets two major outcomes: (1) develop students' academic writing skills; and (2) prepare students for college writing. Using open educational resources (OER) and a variety of writing activities and assignments, students practice writing multiple genres, address different audiences, and…

Despite coverage of materials development principles in the applied linguistics literature, principled production of open textbooks has not received attention. To address this gap and demonstrate the interdisciplinary potential of materials development research, the authors drew upon concurrent verbalization and interview data they collected while…

This paper outlines how digital technologies support innovation in teaching and learning the English language across Palestinian Higher Education Institutes. A European project collaborated to build staff capacity in knowledge and skills, shown here through the redesign of curricula, pedagogical training, the design and implementation of…

Extensive reading is an approach to language learning that encourages learners to read a large quantity of easy reading material. A substantial body of research confirms the effectiveness of this approach for developing proficiency in both first (L1) and second (L2) languages. This paper explains what extensive reading is, why it is important, and…

This small-scale pilot study enquired into the Open Educational Practices (OEPs) that freelance English language teachers in Switzerland are engaging in and the role these played in their Continuing Professional Development (CPD). Participants are members of a teaching association and work in adult education. Freelancers are often faced with…

The pandemic and social upheaval of 2020 and 2021 have given language instructors the mission--and obligation--of adapting their curriculum to multiple crises. Although these crises have abated somewhat with classes returning to campus, we will always face fluctuations in terms of the events affecting our language regions and communities. How can…

As the demand for opportunities to learn English grows throughout the world, parents and educators are looking for innovative ways to engage students in English-learning opportunities. Perhaps your school or municipality will seek to initiate an English Camp to be on trend with this growing need. Or perhaps, like many go-getter teachers, you wish…